For sale: Sports boots

I bought these awesome boots (Pegasus air boots) less than a month ago.

Hampton has only worn them once. They are vented, but Hampton wasn't a fan. Infact, he tried to literally scrape them off his legs. He crossed one front leg over the other and tried to scrape them off. Clever pony, but a clear message to me that he doesn't like them. He is fussy and sensitive about his legs getting sweaty and itchy, but these are super nice boots and would work well on a less ... quirky ... horse.

I am asking $60 + shipping for them. Message or email me for more info. :)

They are one size fits all, but I don't think they would fit a small pony regardless.

Here is the description from the website:

Pegasus EquiCare created a fully breathable, high quality horse boot that "really was" easy to use.  After a series of seven prototypes and extreme testing, the result was a completely revolutionary design:

Breathable

Pegasus AirBoots are constructed of the highest quality, closed cell neoprene available, PERFORATED for cooling breath-ability.  The ventilated material allows excess heat and moisture to dissipate.  Microorganisms that cause fungal diseases, thrive in warm, moist environments.  Excess heat can cause break down of skin tissue, as well as discomfort.  Excellent for medicinal use, offering gentle protection while healing takes place under a veterinarian's guidance.

The fully adjustable wrap extends 10 mm of protection from the delicate splint area to the exterior of the leg in

 a unique, conforming overlap. 

Upward support is provided to the fetlock area by an extra wide strap in a traditional bandage style... No slippage occurs when wet, making PEGASUS AIRBOOTS of particular interest to 'Eventers' and 'Endurance' riders.

I do not have gout, dammit!

You know those ads that appear on your Facebook page? They are supposed to be filtered according to what you post about and whatnot?

This one has been appearing for days now:

• I don't have gout!
• I do not post about gout.
• I don't want the gout.
• I don't know anyone with gout.

You're killing me Smalls! :)

On finding an instructor

Other than leaving my iPhone in Lexington, and developing an odd eye twitch, my time in Kentuck has been fabulous so far. This weekend was especially fun.

I was very worried about finding an instructor who both Hamps and I click with here in Kentuckeh.

I think I may have already found one ... in the form of James Houston. Honestly, I had never heard of the guy until Kelly from Dressage Pony contacted me about participating in one of his clinics. Having participated in numerous clinics with a variety of names, I went in with an open mind and an eagerness to learn. I know that everyone will tell you something a little different, and that is OK. It's finding a system that works and sticking with it. What got me so frustrated with T-Bone (my Morgan), was trying to attend way too many clinics, which left me confused and annoyed.

Anyway, I found Houston to be just a delight. He brought us down to basics and we SO SO SO needed it. Hampton, while very well behaved, was tense and locked in his back and jaw. This has been going on for a while, and I blamed in on the spring stupids. Kelly and Houston were able to pick up right away that it was a physical issue.

Hamps has been uncomfortable for a while now because his jaw was displaced, and he was also out in his back/butt. *FACEDESK* ... Why I didn't pick up on this I don't know. Maybe because I trusted the professionals I was working with. THEY said he was ok, that these were training issues, or my issues, and so proceed.

I have to say that I LOVE the people I worked with in Indiana. BUT ... the caliber of horse professionals in Kentucky is a different league. That much I have found in less than a week living here.

What infuriates me is that I have spent hundreds of dollars and been quite diligent with chiro appointments for Hampton (back in Indiana) because his comfort and health is #1 to me.

Turns out, he has been out of whack for a while. He was adjusted at the clinic (many thanks to the chiro who was so wonderful ... and Kelly for arranging this). And I noticed an immediate difference, not only in his back, but also in his attitude. There was a calmness about him that I had not seen for a while (again, I was blaming his snarky attitude on the spring stupids). I am starting to wonder if that right-hind-hitchyness was due to his butt being out all along?

trying to unlock the back ...

I rode him again today back at home and he was even better. Far less squirrly in the jaw and his back felt more ... boingy? We are sticking to basics for this month and back to Houston for more homework in May. And by basics, I mean simple circles working on getting that falling-down neck. Asking for softness and inside bend. Changes of direction. Lots of stretching. He needs to rebuild those muscles that he wasn't using before because he was out of whack.

Hampton knows the lateral work. He's a well-trained pony. We don't need to drill anything right now, we need to get a soft neck and quiet mouth. He was great today so I think we'll get somewhere.

:)

Old friend

I am swamped at work ... and will be working 6-day work weeks for all of May at the very least. But so far I really like the new job and hey, not going to complain about the overtime. That should pay for a few shows and clinics in the fall. :)

However, I do have this weekend free and of course I didn't take this weekend to relax and organize! Duh! Nope, Hampton and I will be participating in the James Houston clinic in Lexington. Very excited about this and I will return will a full report.

....

One of the reasons I chose this farm for Hampton is because the manager is a friend of Barb, the lady who owns Hampton's sire. (side note, I worked as a young horse trainer for Barb in 2007) The BM (I hate using this ... it means barn manager people, not bowel movement) now owns Harley, the cremello German WB stallion who also used to be owned by Barb. When I worked for Barb, I rode Harley several times.

(Harley is not Hampton's sire. That is a different stallion, still owned by Barb)

Before Harley joined us at Barb's place, he lived for several years in North Dakota out in a big field. All he did was breed mares. He had very little human contact.

When he arrived, Barb told me that she was "pretty sure" he was trained in 2nd level dressage at some point. She asked if I would like to ride him. I said sure. It was my ego talking. Frankly, I was a little nervous.

I have worked with a lot of stallions. And Harley, despite spending the past 2 or 3 years doing nothing but getting it on, was by far the most well behaved stallion I have ever ridden or worked with. I climbed aboard and he when I asked him to walk off, he even came on the bit for me. Yes, he was rusty and pretty much going in a training level frame, but he was never naughty.

Here is a photo of our first ride:

I had so much fun that day!

Rusty, but a good boy!

So when I arrived in KY, of course I went to say hello to my old friend Harley. Who is turned out with an older gelding. He looked great, if just a little fat, and came right over to me when I called. :)

Hi old friend.

Later in the week I spotted a young horse (maybe a 2 year old) in the round pen. Can't argue that this little fellow is a Harley baby. I am pretty sure he made the trip from Barb's farm, too.

Friendly fellow!

It makes me smile to see that Harley now does eventing and seems to love it! I'm not really a fan of cremello horses but this stallion has such a great brain. Whoever started him as a young horse did a fantastic job as well.

Here he is now!

My Old ... derrr, new Kentucky Home

I have a boat load to write about. Where to start??

Hampton and I are moved to Kentucky safe and sound. I of course still have a lot of organizing to do and more things to buy for the apartment, but Hampton seems settled in.

He is living in a MASSIVE field with just 3 other geldings. His field has a pond and a creek, a very large run-in shed and more green grass than they will ever be able to eat. Seriously this kind of land and beauty just does not exist in Indiana. It is mind-blowing to me and seems like a slice of heaven.

It is at least a quarter of a mile from the main barn and arenas out to Hampton's field. Thankfully, there is a little shed out there where I can keep my tack so that I can drive out to the field and ride back to the arena. The property is full of rolling hills and wildlife, as you will see below. I have much more to write about, but here are some photos from the journey. :)

Ready to leave Indiana!

Pit stop!

New home. Hampton approves.

We saw this on our first ride. ... and also a 7 point buck.

Dressage area

Happy Hamper

First ride. Walking back to his field.

"This grass all for me? Really?"

Lets not forget my grumpy cat also made the move. NOT A PEEP out of him
for the entire 3-hour car ride.

Get. in. my. belleh.

Teaching piaffe to the Hamper

Had my last lesson with my favorite instructor this morning. She was kind enough to give me the lesson as a gift - and even better, we worked in-hand with Hampton teaching him the foundation for piaffe.

Yes, he's only 5 but teaching this exercise is beneficial because:
• It teaches the horse to raise his withers and lower his pelvis.
• When you are ready to start it under saddle, the pony already has an understanding.

I have found many videos on YouTube about teaching piaffe in hand, but they are almost all of horses who already know how to do this. No one really shows how they REALLY start out, unless you have a super talented horse who understands piaffe immediately.

So here's how we started.

• Teach Hamps that a touch with the whip on his back legs means to pick the leg up. I had already taught him this.

• When leading in hand, raising the whip means come forward. He knows this pretty well, too.

... now comes the tricky part.

• Horse must respect your space. He cannot barge or rush past you. He must first respect the whoa, and then the piaffe will come. Hampton, while not exactly rude, had some moments where he needed to have a discussion about not running past the handler (J, my instructor). A good bonk on the nose with the rubber end of the lunge whip usually does the trick. (Warning: Don't do this with an ultra sensitive horse who may freak out and rear).

• Once the horse respects this space, it's all about marking the behavior. Reward after even 1 or 2 prancy steps.

• ALWAYS make sure you keep the horse moving forward (so you will be walking backward). At this stage, they can't piaffe in place. So make it fun, rewarding, and easy for them. Don't drill it too much or they become and dull and quit having any sort of reaction. Hampton likes to cow kick at the whip ... this should be corrected, but not too sharply as at least it is a reaction. :)

• The final result should be that you simply raise the whip, horse piaffes.

Here are two short videos I took of his work today. Remember he is just starting this, but you can see him thinking about what the right answer is. By the end, he did about 3 really nice piaffe steps and I immediately shoved him full of treats and ended the session.

Groupie

I took a break from stressing out and spent Saturday at the Hoosier Horse Fair. Got a new pair of cowboy boots for me (I know, the dressage rider goes country. What next?!) and a new pair of really nice front boots for Hamper.

But the best moment was this:

yours truly and THE Buck Brannaman!!!!

Buck is truly an amazing gentleman (yes, they do still exist) and I could tell right away why horses love him. He has such a calm, emotionally honest energy about him (if that makes sense). He was so gracious and humble and took the time for all of his groupies ... fans. I really admire him and wish there was a million more of these types of men in the world.

Watched the rodeo, too. Almost picked up a really friggin cute cowboy but we didn't have enough room in the car after all the shopping. Had to leave him behind. :)